Galicia: Stormwood Inventory (Event Klaus-Jan 2009)

Ground Zero: Northern coastal Eucalyptus forests

Gustavo Iglesias TrabadoContact GIT Forestry Consulting
GIT Forestry Consulting - Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal- www.git-forestry.com - EUCALYPTOLOGICS


Explosive extratropical cyclone Klaus wiped out the Northern coast of Spain en route to South Western France by the end of January 2009, causing the worst damage to the forests of Galicia in 25 years, including severe effects on some of the most productive timberlands in Europe.

A first inventory coordinated by Galician forestry authorities during February yielded a first official approach to stormwood volumes and their geographical distribution. We bring you today a visual summary of that inventory, depicting localised and scattered stormwood areas, main timber species, geographically related stormwood volumes and the location of the most obvious export facilities.

Spatial distribution of stormwood volumes after damage caused by windstorm Klaus to forestry resources in Galicia / Distribucion espacial de la madera de tormenta tras el daño causado por el huracan Klaus a los recursos forestales de Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado, GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoria y Servicios de Ingenieria Agroforestal, Lugo, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, Information resources on sustainable eucalypt cultivation worldwide / Recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo sostenible del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 1: Spatial distribution of stormwood volumes after damage caused by windstorm Klaus to forestry resources in Galicia (NW Spain). (Click image to get a full size version, free of charge, by request)



Total stormwood volumes in Galicia after Event Klaus are estimated in the range of 1.2 to 1.8 million cubic metres, roughly 55% Pines (mainly P. radiata) and 40% Eucalyptus (mainly E. globulus).


Klaus' Stormwood in Galicia: Key Points

  • Roughly one third of total stormwood volume is relatively localised around the coastal town of Viveiro, in Northern Lugo province, which becomes "Ground Zero". Even here, damage is scattered at basin level, and also within management units.
  • Scattered damage means timber extraction has become a slow and dangerous process involving considerably higher costs than usual per salvaged ton, making the less accessible areas difficult to tidy up without incurring on operational losses.
  • Galician authorities have asigned a relief fund for an amount of 7 million € to help cover these extraordinary harvest and haulage costs and to establish temporary wood yards able to stockpile stormwood for a gradual supply to wood industries.
  • Total stormwood volumes are lower than the total combined regional forestry industry processing capacity, however current wood products market situation (global crisis) implies low sales for certain processing chains, impacting wood demand negatively and forcing a slowly gradual use of this unexpected wood supply by industry.
  • Opportunities for timber exports may arise, especially for sensible sized woodlots easily stored near or at export facilities. One third of total stormwood volume is high quality E. globulus pulpwood logs fallen close to several local ports.


Also in Eucalyptologics...

Storm Klaus damages the largest Eucalyptus Forest in Europe at Galicia, Spain / La tormenta Klaus arrasa el bosque de eucalipto más grande de Europa en Galicia, España / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo



Storm Klaus damages the largest Eucalyptus Forest in Europe at Galicia, Spain / La tormenta Klaus arrasa el bosque de eucalipto más grande de Europa en Galicia, España / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


UPDATE: Storm Xynthia hits Galician forests... again!

Storm Xynthia Europe Forests Damage and Stormwood Map for Galicia, Basque Country, Aquitaine, Ardennes, Vosges, Meuse, Saar, Rheineland, Palatinate, Westfalia, Bavaria, Thuringia, Harz, Hesse, +4 million cubic meters stormwood / Orkan Xynthia Sturmholz Karte Deutschland, Frankereich, Spanien, +4 millionen festmeter sturmholz / Mapa de Daños Forestales Tormenta Xynthia en Galicia, Euskadi, Aquitania, Renania, Palatinado, Sarre, Vosgos, Alsacia, Lorena, Harz, Turingia, Baviera / Tempete Xynthia degats bois Allemagne, France, Espagne / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado, Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro, Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoria y Servicios de Ingenieria Forestal / Eucalyptologics: information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation worldwide


Force 4 Hurricane Storm Xynthia hits Eucalyptus and pine forests in Galicia, Spain, and causes 55 fatalities in Western Europe / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoria y Servicios de Ingenieria Forestal / Eucalyptologics: information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation worldwide




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© 2007-2009 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

1 comment:

  1. GIT Forestry Consulting's Stormwood Inventory Summary for Storm Klaus in Galicia was inspirational for damage assessment at a larger scale:

    Riera, R (2009) Delimitación de zonas forestales afectadas por vendaval mediante fotogrametría. Teledetección: Agua y Desarrollo Sostenible. XIII Congreso de la Asociación Española de Teledetección. Calatayud 23-26 Septiembre 2009. pp. 349-352. [Download PDF]

    This was possible thanks to the good work done by the staff of Dirección Xeral de Montes, Consellería do Medio Rural, Xunta de Galicia, estimating stormwood impacts for Klaus.

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